Page 21 of The Cyborg Way
She and Henry both gave him an indignant look.
“You wouldn’t.”
“No, I wouldn’t, little bird, but it’s fun to tease you.”
He looked almost shocked at his own words, and her heart ached. How long had it been since he’d had any fun?
He’d carried her over to the bench next to the RTG, and now he started drying her as he gave Henry a thoughtful look.
“I spoke to Addie when I returned the scanner. She thinks that if there is any life present on Mars, it would be deep underground, or concealed in one of the caves.”
“That’s what I said.”
She gave him a triumphant grin, and he flicked her nose with a teasing finger before continuing to dry her with slow, soothing strokes.
“I thought perhaps I would do some exploring today and see if there are any caves nearby—or any more Henrys.”
Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t going to rush off?
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Could I come with you?” she asked eagerly. She didn’t want to miss any time with him. “We could even have a picnic.”
“A picnic?” He shook his head, but he was smiling. “I would be happy for you to join me, as long as you don’t mind riding on Blaze with me.”
“I’d love to—that is, the two of us won’t be too much for him, will we?”
“I doubt he’ll even notice the difference.”
“In that case, I just have to feed the chickens and check the filters first.”
“I’ll take care of that while you get dressed.”
He gave her one last pat with the towel and rose to his feet, dropping a quick kiss on her lips before pulling on his own clothes and heading back through the garden dome to the chicken habitat. Her eyes suddenly threatened to fill with tears. After a year of doing everything on her own, having him take over her chores, even for a morning, was a wonderful gift.
“I’m being silly,” she told Henry. “I can’t get used to this.”
He tilted his head, and chirped a response, and she smiled.
“I suspect that means to let future chickens hatch themselves.”
She dried her eyes and hurried off to dress and put together the promised picnic. By the time Levi finished the chores, she was ready to go.
Instead of her usual coveralls, she had pulled on a pair of faded jeans that hugged her curves and a soft blue sweater the same shade as her eyes. From the look on his face, he approved, but he simply helped her into her thermal coat, then frowned as Henry glided over to perch on her shoulder.
“You are bringing him along?”
“Why not? He might recognize something.”
She bit her lip as it occurred to her that if he did, he might choose to return to his previous home.
I can’t keep him if he doesn’t want to stay.
Just like she couldn’t keep Levi. But they were both here now, and she decided to focus on that. Levi sighed but didn’t raise any additional objections as she put on her facemask and they left the dome.
Blaze was grazing—absorbing micronutrients from the soil—by the base of the rocks, but he immediately came to join them. He butted his head against her and she stroked his nose, suddenly filled with guilt.
“I didn’t think about poor Blaze alone out here all night. I have some extra building materials. Maybe I could make him a shelter?—”
She stopped abruptly, blushing as she realized she was assuming that the horse—and Levi—would spend the night with her again.But he only smiled as he lifted her and Henry easily onto the horse.
